


Undead Hearts

by Tolyo (spicydorito)



Category: Original Work
Genre: Blood Drinking, F/F, Fluff and Smut, Human/Vampire Relationship, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Master/Servant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, Vampires, vampire families are not healthy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-09
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:01:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23085202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spicydorito/pseuds/Tolyo
Summary: It's said that vampires are unfeeling, bloodthirsty beasts.-I am working on a continuation of this story and the characters, stay tuned for that!-
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Female Character
Comments: 4
Kudos: 43





	1. Chapter 1

When the blindfold was removed and the restraints cut, Aila was met by a darkened room and a women with a beautiful face and flowing, silver hair with scarlet eyes. At least, she would've thought she was beautiful if she hadn't been deathly afraid. There was a legend among her village, one of a creature who lurked in the night, stalking the village for years. The abandoned mansion hidden away in the forest was it's home, the villagers too afraid to treck that far into the forest, even for food. The existence of this creature had been passed down the village for generations, and when the creature eventually withdrew from the world, it became customary to offer up a yearly sacrifice to appease them. It had been this way since long before Aila was born.

There was a fear that if it was not appeased, it would return with a malevolent hunger for blood.

And now it was her turn, having come of age. It used to be that anyone would do, even children. It hadn't lasted long, when the first child to be sacrificed had returned unharmed, and the one to have brought the child to the creature would return unrecognizable. So a new rule was enacted, that upon turning eighteen years, whether male or female, they would be sacrificed. One a year, no more, no less. When the one who brought the sacrifice returned alive, it proved an effective rule.

The creature in question was up for debate as to what it was. Many types of mythical beasts came as possible answers. Perhaps a werewolf, for when it mangled those who offered up the children? Or perhaps a vampire, as it seemed to only lurk in the shadows in the dead of night.

Which leads back to the present. Scarlet eyes, pale skin, and an unnatural beauty stood before Aila. It was no werewolf, which only left one feasible option as to what it was.

The vampire asked her name.

"A-Aila..."

Those scarlet eyes tore right through her, as if picking her apart piece by piece. She seemed angry, upset, muttering words of discontent towards the village under her breath. She knelt down to her level and Aila braced herself, preparing herself mentally for the vampire to drain her dry. She felt her hair brush up against her cheek, but instead of drinking from her, she spoke a question softly into her ear. "Your village gave you to me with no qualms or regret, is this true?"

She was still scared, too scared to form words or even nod in response. The vampire took her silence as an answer. Usually, when someone was left on her doorstep, it had been another of the village's stupid sacrifices. She welcomed the meals, but she had never asked for this treatment. She would offer them the choice to stay or leave every time, and they all chose to leave. So she would only drink what she needed, then wipe those memories and set them loose in the city. It was better than returning them to a village where it was easy to sacrifice their loved ones, their friends. It made her sick, and if she had just as much self control as the rest of her kin, she would have already slaughtered the lot of them. But she had morales, unlike her kin.

And so she gave Aila the very same question.

"Aila, would you leave this place, or would you stay and start a new life here?"

Aila felt the fear slowly drain from her body, her breathing returning to normal, though still shakey and uneven. Did she want to go home? Was she being told she could? She hadn't specified in her question. The villagers told her being chosen as the years sacrifice was an honor, to not feel scared. But she had been very, very afraid when they forcibly tied her down and blindfolded her. That fear remained as they took her to the decrepit mansion, then dropped her on the cold pavement and left. She had been there for what felt like hours until a new pair of arms, gentle, yet ice cold arms, picked her up. She thought she had been saved, and instead was met by the vampire before her now.

The question remained. Did she want to leave, if it meant going back to her village?

_"Don't be afraid, my daughter. This is a huge honor."_

_"This is for the good of the village, so be a good girl and don't scream."_

_"If you're not sacrificed, we'll be punished."_

No, she didn't want to go back.

"I'll... I'll stay."

The vampire was genuinely shocked. The girl wanted to stay. She could still smell her fear, the worry that this was all just a ruse to kill her. She had no reason to fault her, humans having a... less than knowledgeable stance on her kind. From the books she had read, humans thought her and anyone like her were horrible, unfeeling, bloodsucking monsters. Though most of her kind fit the bill, she was not like that. Not in the very slightest.

But still, this human had no way of knowing this.

The vampire inhaled sharply, exhaling softly. "Very well then. You will stay, but on one exception." Aila stared at her, afraid to ask what she meant. Would she be her plaything, testing the limits of human endurance, or perhaps nothing more than cattle?

"You will live as a servant, though not in the traditional sense. You will be fed and clothed, and in return, you will clean and, when I must feed, I will drink from you. Are these terms acceptable?"

Aila nodded slowly, seeing no better alternative to her situation.

The vampire pulled away and stared into her new servant's eyes. Her own scarlet orbs began to dimly grow. "Very well. For your reference, my name is Renita. Now, please brace yourself."

And thus, before Aila could protest or respond, or even ask what she was bracing herself for, she passed out just as Renita's fangs had dug into her neck. A sliver of pain, and everything had gone dark.


	2. Change of Clothes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the antics begin in full swing.  
> enjoy.

Aila was woken up by someone knocking on a door. She groaned and sat up, rubbing her sore neck, her arm throbbing in pain from such the motion, immediately letting it drop back down onto the bed. At first, she had no clue why her body was in such pain, then she remembered the previous night. The vampire, it's scarlet eyes glowing before she had passed out. Her neck stung briefly, and it hit her. The vampire had drunk from her. She tried to run her fingers through her short, brown hair before giving up from the pain, still trying to gain her bearings. She was tired, more tired than she'd ever been in her life. She could barely think, much less bring herself to get off the bed. She wondered if it was some sort of side effect from being bitten by a vampire. The words still sounded strange in her head, despite their existence being a known reality within the village. She just never really believed it until she'd seen it with her own eyes. Her village could've been sacrificing to anything or anyone.

She looked to where the knocking came from. The vampire, Renita, came in wearing a dark cloak and carrying a glass filled with a dark liquid. She pulled up a chair in the corner of the room to the bedside, careful not to spill the liquid. "Are you tired?" she asked. Yes, she was tired, very much so. She tried to answer, but the words wouldn't come out. She was tired, but she didn't think it was bad enough to where she couldn't speak. She held a shaking hand to her throat and nodded. Renita simply closed her eyes and sighed, irritated at herself. She offered Aila the glass of that strange liquid, with a simple "Drink".

She took it from her hands, wincing in pain still, and gulped it down. It was the most disgusting thing she'd ever had. It was so disgusting she couldn't even begin to describe it, gagging and tearing up as she finished it. Her arm shaking, she handed the empty glass back to Renita. "Try speaking now," she said. Renita waited patiently as Aila began to try and form words, tried to speak. It was a couple of minutes before she could choke out anything but a simple "Thank you". The vampire simply nodded. Aila could tell when something was bothering people, and it seemed that something was bothering the vampire seated next to her. "You... okay?" she choked out.

Renita smiled dimly at her concern. "I am fine. It is nothing for one such as yourself to worry over, I am just upset at myself." The vampire sighed as she stood up, and walked over to the dresser across the room. She began sifting through the clothing within it, settling on a simple white t-shirt and brown trousers. She folded them neatly one by one in her arms and set them down in front of her new servant. This was going to be tedious, she was sure of that, but it had to be done. Humans weren't exactly thrilled over something such as this. First, however, she needed to make sure. "Are you able to move, Aila?"

She looked down at her arms, moving them weakly. Some of the pain from earlier was now gone, but it still hurt enough to restrict her movements to some degree. Renita picked up the clothes she had picked out and placed them in her lap. She hoped she didn't make her uncomfortable with this, though she couldn't think of any reason why she would, having been detached from any form of society for a very, very long time. "I thought not..." she said, unfolding the shirt first. "Here, allow me to dress you. It shouldn't take too long."

Very understandably, Aila was reluctant to let her do so. Her eyes widened and she blushed, beginning to move away from the vampire. Renita cocked her head to the side, very confused by her actions towards her offer. She was only trying to help her. She didn't know human customs, much less what embarrassed them or what didn't. "Is something the matter?" she asked, hoping to find some clarification as to why her behavior had suddenly changed.

"You... you can't just-" Aila was cut off abruptly by a dry cough, still not having her voice back completely. "You can't ask something like that!"

"Why not? You're clothes are covered in grime, it would be best to change, and you can hardly move..."

Aila's blush faded. It occurred to her that she had no idea what she was asking of her, and debated on whether that was a good thing or not. When she thought about it hard enough, there was nothing wrong with Renita's request. It had been perfectly reasonable, for someone lacking in basic human decency such as her, at least that's how it appeared from this exchange. If Renita had no idea of all the different implications and meanings behind wanting to do this, then surely it was okay to let her. Right?

She moved back over to her, and gave her a nod that indicated that she had permission. "Alright, then allow me."

And so began the tedious work of trying to change the clothes of a human, who at present, could barely move. Aila, despite feeling no ill intentions or otherwise, was still blushing heavily from the contact, as any normal person would in this kind of situation. Renita, who thought the blush simply meant that she was fatigued from standing up for this, continued working. Soon she had a fresh pair of clothes, the ones covered in grime resting on the chair that Renita had pulled up earlier. "That should do it, however I won't do this a second time. I hope you recover quickly, as it's unbefitting to dress servants."

 _"Though you are my first one."_ she thought to herself.

* * *

The rest of the day had been fairly simple. Aila had spent most of it regaining her basic functions such as walking and speaking, with Renita helping her with both. She finished her recovery around dinner, which also meant this would supposedly be her first task as a vampire's servant. It would be a problem, however, as she had no idea what a vampire might eat. Did they eat what humans eat, or could they only drink blood? She didn't want to upset or dissapoint Renita, for fear of being released and possibly sent back to her village, or worse. But as it turned out... Those worries were unwarranted. Renita had been her fretting over a fairly empty kitchen, and had reassured her that blood was the only thing she could ingest without harming herself. She was told that she needn't worry about acquiring any, since she only needed to feed once or twice a month, and that issue had solved itself with Aila's appointment to the mansion.

But despite giving Aila a breath of fresh air, it only worried her. What was the point of her being here, if a she couldn't perform the most basic task a servant could do? She needed to ask.

"Um... Renita... if I can't cook, then what am I supposed to do?"

Renita beckoned her to sit with her in her living room. Aila only began to grow more fearful, thinking that she was about to reprimand her for asking something so stupid. She saw the human's fear and chuckled. "You needn't worry, I am not going to discipline you. Please, sit."

And so she did.

"You asked what you were supposed to do, correct? The answer is simple." Renita laid back into the velvet couch they were seated on, her cloak splayed across it. "You need only accompany me throughout each day. You will be cleaning as well, but only the areas we frequent most. Is this answer enough to ease you?" Aila nodded, taking a deep breath and exhaling in relief. These she could do. Renita wasn't asking much of her, so it would be hard to screw up. There were still two questions lingering in the back of her mind, one more important than the other. If she was Renita's source for blood, and if she kept drinking from her...

"Wouldn't I become a vampire like you?"

The vampire frowned. "Only if you are willing, and certain requirements have to be met first. You needn't worry about this."

Aila wouldn't question what these requirements were, at least not for the foreseeable future. But she had no way of knowing of this. Her next question was more simple. "You drank from me, but there wasn't a bite mark on my neck. Why is that?" Renita stared at her for a brief moment.

"Do you remember that liquid you drank this morning?" Aila nodded, the very thought of it making her want to gag. "It is an old remedy from a time before I was born, passed down through my..." Renita bit her lip and swallowed. "Family." Aila could tell that this wasn't exactly a pleasant topic for her, so she dropped it.

The rest of the night was filled with silence. Eventually Renita announced that she would retire, stating that vampire's slept normally, just like anyone else. They just didn't need to. Aila accompanied her to her room, and noticed that she had nowhere to sleep. She watched as Renita laid herself down, unsure of where she would sleep. The vampire noticed, and made room for her despite her better judgement. "You are welcome in my bed, it is no trouble."

Aila blinked, then felt herself blush. "Is, is there another bed I could-?"

"There is not."

She laid back onto her pillow as Aila accepted her fate and laid down next to her, eyes slowly starting to shut. Her last thoughts were off one of Aila's questions, how she noted the disdain in her voice towards her family. _"It's best she doesn't know for now."_

And she drifted off to sleep.


	3. Dreams

Vampires didn't usually have dreams, much less nightmares. Whenever they slept, they would wake up almost immediately, as if no time had passed whatsoever. But in the past month since Aila had joined her in the mansion, she started to have dreams. At first she chalked them up to her having social interaction with someone after 200 years of solitude, aside from those stupid sacrifices from the village. It would've been easy to blame them on Aila's presence, but since their interactions had been simple conversations and exchanging glances while she worked and Renita read books from her library, that couldn't be the case. She'd fed from her twice now, the second while she was conscious, the dreams having become more vivid since that second feeding.

Tonight's would be the worst. She was reminded of her condition in the worst way possible. The condition that had ruined everything for her, had made her feel untold amounts of anger and sadness. Her dream involved her father, sneering at her several years ago as a child. He had bright orange eyes and dark hair, completely different from Renita's scarlet eyes and silver hair. Her father never cared for her, solely because of the condition she was born with. Among vampires, it was rare to be born with an immunity to the sun, accompanied by hair and eyes like Renita's. Vampires with this immunity could heal the wounds on humans that they inflicted. Alongside this, her other kin preferred the cover of darkness, to instill fear in their prey. Renita was in so sense a traditional vampire, and for this, her father looked down upon her as imperfect, a blemish on his family.

A young Renita sat next to her father, listening to him mutter hateful things about his daughter as if she wasn't there. She looked up to her uncle, who was standing behind her father with a severe look of distaste, but not towards Renita. He had always been kind to her, and knowing that his brother, Renita's father, treated her the way he did, did not sit well with him. Renita's father was higher up than him, so he could not speak in defense of her to her. Instead, he settled for acting like the father that she was obviously lacking. He treated her like his own, no matter what. Renita snuck a glance to her uncle behind her father, and he smiled at her. That had been enough to improve her mood and tune out her angry father for the most part.

That same day, around Renita's curfew set, she awoke to hear her uncle yelling at her father. It scared her, as she had never heard her uncle shout like that. She snuck out of her room and past her father's sleeping guards assigned to keep her under watch, following the screaming. 

_"...Just a little girl, you can't be serious, brother!"_

_"I am very serious, Francis. She is an abomination and an e_ _mbarrassment."_

Renita stood hidden in the doorway, listening intently to their conversation.

_"Do you think her mother would've wanted this? You know she cared for her, unlike you!"_

Renita heard a loud smack, followed by a low grunt and a hiss.

_"Don't you dare talk about my love like that, you have no right!"_

_"I have more right than you know, Dimitri. The girl is coming with me, I will not allow you to kill her!"_

Her uncle had stormed out of her father's room and almost ran into Renita, his face twisted in fury and anger.

" _Get back here! GUARDS!"_

 _"U-Uncle?"_ she stammered. She had never seen him this angry. Her uncle said nothing as he picked her up and ran. Though Renita had no idea because of her upbringing and abuse, she was royalty, and her uncle knew this. He knew taking her and running could get them both executed, but he had to take the risk. His black cloak trailed behind him as he pushed past guards and servants alike in the family castle. He burst through the main doors and ran into the surrounding woods with Renita. He knew these woods best, they would be safe here. At least, they would be if the guards weren't still chasing them on her father's orders. Francis was running out of options. He looked behind them and saw the sheer amount of guards, knowing he'd have no chance of fighting them off and protecting his niece.

He set Renita down and covered her in his cloak. He smiled. _"Run ahead, Renita. Don't look back, I'll catch up."_

_"Uncle, w-what's going on? I'm scared..."_

_"Don't be. You're very strong, stronger than your father. Run ahead, please, and don't look back."_ His smile never wavered, and his words gave the terrified Renita enough courage to nod and run. She held on to her uncle's cloak tightly, and despite her uncle wanting her not to, she looked back. There were four dead guards around him and a sword through his chest. Renita teared up and held back a scream, because he would recover from it. Her uncle had never lied to her, he would catch up.

Renita had waited for him for several days. He never caught up with her.

* * *

Renita shot up in the shared bed of her mansion, a scream leaving her with tears streaming down her eyes. She frantically looked around her room, taking in her surroundings. She was safe from her father, still under the impression that her uncle was long dead, and her servant had woken up and begun to try and calm her down. Her breathing was erratic and uneven, her entire body shaking. It was a while before Aila could calm her down, and when she finally had, Renita turned to look at her. She did what Aila had least expected her to do and hugged her, light sobs muffled in her shoulder. She reeled slightly from the sudden intimacy but still returned it, and would stay like that until Renita fell back asleep. When she did, Aila laid her down as gently as she could.

Come daybreak, Renita woke up still shaken, but calm. Aila was awfully close to her, but that was to be expected. Her dream, no, nightmare, was still fresh in her mind, and she remembered how her servant had comforted her. She very much appreciated it, and couldn't help but feel her face heat up. She acted like she was still a scared little girl, and had gotten more intimate with her servant than she had ever intended after taking her in. She felt ashamed of her actions.

But regardless of all of that, she was also happy to some extent. No one had been there for her for centuries after her uncle died, until now. She smiled. She got out of bed and prepared herself for the day, going through the extra effort to prepare Aila's clothes as well, writing a note and placing it on top of the now folded clothes.

When Aila woke up, Renita was nowhere to be found. Normally, people who shared a room with someone would be worried after the other had a horrible night like Renita's, but she was always up and about before her. She was about to get up and get dressed for the day, and noticed they were already folded neatly next to her with a small piece of paper on top. She picked it up and read the words written on it in messy handwriting.

_'Thank you for last night.'_

Aila smiled. Renita wasn't big on 'thank you's' when face to face with her, but she still managed to write it in words. It was cute, in it's own way. She wouldn't pressure her on last night with questions either, not until she was ready to divulge it to her. Something like that would take time.

And she would give her all the time she needed.

* * *

Renita sat her down at the end of the day, preparing to explain everything to her. She would exclude her childhood and her uncle, that was for her and her alone. Aila at least deserved to know about her condition after last night, and she would get a proper explanation. It was hard to explain it all, trying to make it sound simple for her. She seemed to understand her... defects, her immunity to sunlight and her ability to heal the wounds she left. What puzzled Renita the most was that Aila didn't treat her differently, or scoff at her. She was human, yes, but Renita was already used to the abuse that accompanied her condition. She just smiled. She was always smiling.

"You... you are not shocked? You are not confused?"

"Why would I be? There's nothing to be shocked over."

Renita began to tear up at those words, having not heard them in centuries. She threw her dignity out the window and hugged her again. The both of them began to feel heated and almost immediately pulled away from each other. This wasn't like last night, when she was barely in control of her emotions. She was fully conscious and aware of her actions, and at least knew the concept of intimacy and feelings accompanying it from the books she'd read. She refused to cross that line, even if she did feel _that way_ about her servant. Which she didn't, she told herself repeatedly.

Aila, on the other hand, did. But it wasn't right to act on those feelings, especially with Renita becoming more and more emotionally vulnerable. She refused to take advantage of her like that.


	4. Back and Forth

Renita was silent, flipping through the pages of her book. Around her were shelves and shelves of books she had accumulated since claiming the once abandoned mansion for herself, centuries ago. She had begun calling it her 'quiet space', as of late. Though it was only her and the servant Aila, she was not used to the way humans interacted with others. She had no personal issues towards her, but the constant questions she asked on a daily basis had begun to wear her out. She was slowly regretting telling her about her condition in full. It had sparked endless questions after questions about her and other vampires, and she tried her best to avoid both topics as much as possible.

Yet the questions never stopped, so she had set a new house rule. From the hours of five pm to nine pm, she would seclude herself to her library everyday. Aila had been upset by the new rule, to a point where despite Aila being the first human in her life, she was sure the behavior was abnormal. But the rule was already in place, and when she decided on something, she wouldn't waver from her decision. This was final. She continued flipping through the pages of her book. It was on human interaction. It had been in her library collecting dust since she acquired it, having thought she would never have to read a book about humans.

Yet here she was, reading exactly that.

Renita sighed. Page after page, and she was learning nothing useful from it. She knew now that the book was meant for humans, not immortal beings that secluded themselves to a run down mansion alone. She shut the book and set it aside, standing up to sift through her other titles. There were plenty she still hadn't touched yet, having amassed a few centuries worth of them. Her last excursion had been a year before Aila's arrival, and she had returned with more than she thought she would. Humans had moved to what they called the 'digital age', having seen men and women talk and move on such strange boxes. Overly thin and large, the concept of it alone made no sense to her. She set aside three more of her books. Again, she sighed.

 _'Maybe Aila could point one out...'_ she shook her head. This was her time alone, and the rule was in place. She would not emerge from the library until the clock struck nine. Aila had enough food from Renita's excursions to feed herself, so she had no need to prep something for the human. She had plenty to do, rooms to clean and clothing to wash. There were plenty of books strewn about the mansion for her to read. No, she would be fine, and Renita had no real need to ask her about what book to read. They would both be fine.

She finally settled on a fairly old one and sat herself back in her chair. Only she would have, if there wasn't already someone in it. Her arms crossed underneath her cloak.

"Aila? Why are you in the library?"

* * *

She was bored.

She had finished the cleaning and the laundry. She had made her dinner and finished it. The books she found strewn about everywhere didn't interest her, or she just couldn't read the language it was written in. It served as a reminder to how old Renita _might_ be, which lead to her thinking about how _long_ she'd been here. Alone. It was a depressing thought. She sat herself down on the living room couch and stared up at the ceiling. Renita was in her library, and because of the rule she had set, they couldn't talk, and Aila wanted _very much_ to see her. Her boredom and depressing thoughts started to catch up with her, like they did everyday. Day in and out, from the timeframe Renita had set. She looked over to the wall clock, watching the hands of it move. Everyday, she would try to find an excuse to worm her way around the new rule. Maybe the library needed cleaning, books needing to be put back on the shelves. She would try saying that she wanted to read what was in there.

Back and forth most days. Back and forth.

She looked over to the stairs that supposedly led to the library, seeing Renita go up those stairs everyday. She would admit that she watched her a lot. From what the villagers had said about her, she imagined she'd walk with an air of superiority around her, but instead, she looked solemn. Depressed. It was like all the rare smiles she had put on for her had been fake. Thinking about it now that she was alone really messed with her. Aila stood up and made her way to the base of the stairs. She looked up to the small door at end of the stairwell. She took a deep breath and started up the stairs and walked through the door, and stood there awestruck. There were shelves and shelves of books, years worth, _centuries_ worth. She shut the door quietly behind her. Ahead of her was Renita, sifting through one of the many bookshelves. There was a chair behind her, and thinking she wouldn't be turning around for a bit at the rate she going through the books, she sat down in it.

She watched her go through the shelf, setting aside book after book, novel after novel. She became lost in her thoughts, watching her movements. She could always read people's moods from how they conducted themselves, and watching Renita, she knew that something was eating away at her. She looked like she hadn't been happy in years. She started to think of ways she might be able to change that, but each idea was worse than the last. And as cheesy and stupid as it was, confessing might not be the best course of action.

"Aila? Why are you in library?"

Aila looked up to a very disgruntled vampire, and smiled sheepishly. Before she could answer, Renita bent down to her level. "You know the rules. Why are you in here?" Her face was awfully close to hers, and Aila couldn't help but admire her despite the situation she was now in.

"Aila."

Aila was snapped out of her innapropiate fantasies. She hung her head not out of shame, but embarrassment. She doubted her answer would be satisfactory. "Well, you always look lonely and depressed, so I thought that maybe..."

"Maybe?"

Aila looked back up at her. "Maybe I could keep you company here as well?"

"You're explanation wasn't that well thought out, was it?"

Renita straightened herself out and walked over to one of her many bookshelves. Aila watched her, her cloak billowing behind her as it always did. She was most likely upset, no, she was certain that she was. Should she apologize? No, if she was going to apologize, it should've happened instead of staring at her. Now she was ashamed of herself, her actions probably having creeped her out. She waited silently for Renita to reprimand her. But she didn't.

"Lonely and depressed..." she said, her voice brought to a whisper but still loud enough for Aila to hear her. "Lonely, I would not say I'm lonely. I have been anything _but_ lonely for these past few months. I don't keep you around for just your blood, but your company as well. I put this rule in place not because you annoy me, but the constant questions about me and other vampires annoy me in of themselves. As for being depressed..."

Aila waited. She wouldn't interrupt her, and even if she wanted to, she had no openings. Renita was ranting at this point, but she wouldn't say it was a bad thing. It sounded like she had been holding all this in for quite a while, but she couldn't understand why she hadn't opened up to her before now. Aila had seen her at her weakest points, the nightmare incident (there had been many more, but none so bad that she had woken up screaming) and when she explained her condition. Surely there was _some_ modicum of trust between them.

"I guess I am, in a way. But I've been alone for centuries before you came, willingly or not. What causes me to be this way is... in the past, and I would prefer it to remain so. You needn't concern yourself with me because of that."

"But, maybe it would help you if you talked about it with me-"

Renita turned back to her. "In time. I will tell you in time. It's something I don't want to remind myself of outside of my nightmares."

_'It's that bad?'_

"If... if that's what you want..."

"It is. Thank you for understanding." Renita stopped next to the chair Aila was in, clutching a book in her barely visible arms.

"If you will, you could consider this a test."

Aila looked up at her, very clearly confused. Renita smiled, and it didn't seem forced this time.

"I know you hold feelings for me. It's obvious from the way you act, catching every little chance you can to look my way. So, I'll let you in on a little secret."

Renita placed a hand on her shoulder, clutching the book in her free hand. "I also feel something. What that something is, is up to you to decide. I do not even know myself." she lied. She knew exactly what she felt, just not ready to accept it. "If you are patient enough, you'll find out the answer for both of us."

She removed her hand and left behind a very embarresed and confused Aila. Renita made her way back to their room, and she was left alone with her thoughts once more. She told herself she would't allow herself to cross that line, that she wouldn't allow herself to fall for her. Yet she had, she had crossed that line she set for herself and she was ashamed of herself for it. Part of her had told her to act on it, and the rational part of her said to make it as difficult for the other as possible, to discourage her from her feelings. She agreed with the latter, and was now banking on that she had left her confused and flustered enough that she wouldn't continue with this 'test'. Yet the other part was there still, hoping the human would pull through. At this point she wished both sides would keep quiet.

For now, she'd wait to see if she had screwed up or not with this.


	5. Test, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The vague test begins.
> 
> AN: Both chapter parts of the "test" will be relatively short, so expect part 2 in five to six days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's art at the end too!

Aila letting Renita feed on her had been ingrained in her as something that wasn't abnormal or strange, but as a normal occurrence. Every month, twice a month, she would sit herself down in their shared room and let her drink her fill. The first few months, the first few times, it had been painful. Renita had taken it slow with her feeding, trying to minimize the pain she felt each time. Her body had slowly become accustomed to the feeling of the vampire's fangs piercing her skin. She no longer felt pain whenever Renita fed. If anything, though it would be embarrassing to admit, it felt oddly nice. She imagined that anyone else who had been fed on by a vampire would describe the experience as anything but _nice_ , no matter how many times they'd been fed on. But that's how it felt now, and she decided it was much better than it being painful.

If she had to give it an explanation, she would chalk it up to how gentle she had been everytime, before and after the pain of her fangs had subsided. It felt nice being embraced by someone, even if that someone was drinking their blood. Back in her village, she had always been shunted to the side before she was chosen as the years sacrifice, ignored no matter how hard she had tried to get someone to acknowledge her. But there was Renita, and though it was probably just to make her feel more comfortable, who had her in her arms whenever she fed. She would ask if she felt light headed whenever she was finished, if she was okay. She was the first person to show her concern, both when she was feeding and when she wasn't. It was nice, though she was taking things out of proportion. She liked her after all, quite a bit.

And while she thought it was nice, there was also something that bothered her about Renita. She had acknowledged how Aila felt, but had also decided to "test" her. She had been vague, and left without saying much of anything after telling her. She had never loved someone before her, and had no experiences to compare this to, but she still felt angry. She felt sad. Despite these feelings, she decided to answer her need to test her. She guessed there was a reason behind it, but she couldn't begin to guess what that reason actually was.

Today, Renita needed to feed, and Aila saw an opportunity. If her feelings were being tested, then she would make every effort to make sure she passed.

* * *

Renita was already waiting in their room, her face and what skin she did show outside of her cloak pale. She kept her composure day in and day out, and it was especially hard to do it when she was thirsty. She just never let it show. In the past, she would have no need to hide her thirst, panting and stumbling around the forest that surrounded her mansion, looking for animals to drink from. Now she had someone with her that held her in high regards, and made every effort to keep herself calm and collected. When Aila walked in, every instinct she had told her to jump her and feed, but she stood her ground and remained seated on the bed. She didn't notice the smug look on her face.

As per their routine, Aila seated herself next to Renita and exposed her shoulder to her. Renita, still struggling to keep her composure, embraced her and sank her fangs slowly into her shoulder. Almost immediately, Renita felt herself calm down as she began to drink. Her... urges had subsided, and she wasn't overexerting herself trying to keep herself until control. As she drank, she began to feel something was off about Aila. She began to shudder a bit, and as she was about to pull away, Aila _moaned_.

Renita practically tore herself away from her, hastily wiping the blood from her mouth. "Is something the matter?" she asked, looking up at her. She saw that she was smirking. Her eyes widened and she blinked a few times, quickly and quietly dismissing herself. 

Again, two different parts of her both looked forward to and also highly dreaded the next few days.

* * *

AN: As you hopefully saw in the beginning notes, there's now art of Aila and Renita! Below in the end notes, you'll see the name of the artist who drew them. Go check them out if you have time!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The art was drawn by BlueLuminary on Etsy, all credit for the drawing goes to them.


	6. Test, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aila pushes hard and Renita reaches the point of no return

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part of this chapter was inspired by Seifuku no Vampiress Lord and brought to you by Raid: Shadow Lege-
> 
> The next chapter will, again, be out in 5-6 days. Look forward to it ;)

Another month passed since Renita issued the test to Aila, hoping it would prove to be enough of a deterrent to hopefully make Aila ditch her feelings. It's not like she wanted this, she knew it would break her if she gave up, but the fact of the matter was that Renita was immortal, and Aila was not. Even if they got together, Renita knew she'd outlive Aila and that's not something she wanted to live to see. The human had been nothing but kind to her since she arrived, which made her develop feelings of her own, but she couldn't allow herself to act on them. She'd have to leave Aila behind someday, and that day would only hurt her more if they were to end up together. Renita's goal, though selfish as it was, was to make sure that future didn't happen. There _was_ a way to make her immortal without turning her, and that would require her to answer with her feelings in turn to Aila's.

But Renita had her mindset already. She had long forsaken that option since the start.

And Aila had different plans to Renita's. Her original goal after receiving the test was to make Renita acknowledge her feelings, but after seeing her reactions for two months after all her attempts, she was now attempting to make Renita confess to her. She obviously felt the same about her, and Aila couldn't figure out why she wouldn't accept her. By no means was she going to give up, however. If she did, it would've been over after the first attempt. Aila began to think of another way to realize her goal, but she was quickly running out of ideas. She rubbed her neck in thought, passing over the bite mark that had been there since her first day here. 

She began to brainstorm during her meals, during her duties as a servant, and late into the night. Even in her showers, she would stand there under the hot water and try to think of something she could try to force a confession out of Renita.

And when she finally did think of something, it had her reeling, partly from disgust, partly from embarrassment. The idea itself had made her face hot and had her thought process skewered. The idea was to try and seduce her, and while she was desperate for her affection, she wasn't so desperate as to try and push something on Renita that she may not want.

She shouldn't be thinking like this.

She slapped herself both physically and mentally.

She sat herself down on the living room couch, even though she was supposed to be cleaning, and buried her face in her hands. The idea had been banished for the most part, and now she was truly out of ideas. There had to be something more tame, she thought to herself. Anything at all.

"Aila."

The human looked up to where the voice came from, and upon seeing Renita, her face become redder and her eyes widened. Those thoughts she had banished returned, and she felt her entire body heat up. She scooted away from her, looking for an exit. She couldn't think properly under these conditions.

Renita didn't relent. She leaned in towards her, eyes full of concern. "Aila," she said, "please, tell me what's wrong. This is not like you."

Hey eyes began to dart around, trying to look at anything that wasn't Renita. She finally settled on a forgotten book from the library. "I- I can't..." she stammered. Her thoughts were bad enough right now, but to have the very object of those thoughts right before her was making things worse. She tried to get away with the excuse of needing to clean the library, but Renita wasn't having any of it. "And why can't you? Is it about me?"

Aila was panicking now. It was definitely about her, but how was she going to even tell her that? There was no feasible way to explain her thoughts to her, not without her possibly becoming disgusted with her. For now, she simply nodded her head.

"And what is it about me that has you like this?" Her tone was stern, and her panic had quickly turned into hysteria. She couldn't tell her, it wasn't right to lay those kinds of thoughts on her. She muttered quietly under her breath, still trying to find an escape.

"Could you repeat that, please?"

"I said... I, uh, I forgot some rooms I need to clean! I'll go do that now!"

The vampire grabbed her wrist in an attempt to get her to stay. "You are not getting away that easily. What is it about me bothers you so much?"

"It's, uh..."

Aila noticed that she had loosened her grip on her just enough to pull away, and she did exactly that, bolting away from her. Renita was flustered, confused, and upset all at once. Should she be glad she hadn't told her what was wrong, or upset that she didn't? Her thoughts were scattered now and she had no idea how to deal with this situation. She sighed and set off after her, still unsure of what she should say.


	7. Intruder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Again, a certain part of this chapter was inspired by seifuku no vampiress lord

Renita thought she knew her own home well, having lived in this mansion for centuries. She knew where every hall lead, what was around every corner and what lay behind every door. But when it came to searching for someone in her own home, having ran off in embarrassment or not, it felt to her like she was learning the whole layout for a second time. She scoured every hall and every room she came across for Aila. She felt she had to apologize, even if she was unsure what she was apologizing for. Aila's... teasing had gotten to the point where it made her feel ashamed of herself, and it was enough to leave her thoughts scattered, her emotions out of check.

Door after door, hallway after hallway, and she still had no luck in finding her. She had to be _somewhere._ The mansion was big, yes, but it wasn't that big. She heard something breaking, like glass, and her first thought was that Aila had broken something in her effort to hide herself. She ran to where the sound had come from, coming up on the door to one of the spare bedrooms. If she had hurt herself, then she would be at fault. Aila had tried to break herself away earlier, and Renita having refused to let her go had only panicked her more. She opened the door slowly and stepped through. She searched the room for Aila and found her cowering in a corner.. As she was about to try and console her, hoping to calm her, until she saw _why_ she was cowering.

A man with dark hair and orange eyes was towering over her, a red cloak draped around him. She knew what that cloak meant. His fingernails had elongated into claws and was reaching out for her.

Renita snapped. Before she knew what was happening, she had a firm grip around the newcomer's neck, her eyes glowing. Her fingernails had begun to turn into claws as well, and began digging into his neck. Because of her grip, her claws began to pierce his neck. Blood started to drip down from each claw now embedded, if only to a small degree, in his neck. She threw him across the room and into a wall, hard enough that it cracked it. The man grunted in pain as he slumped to the floor. Renita was now towering over him.

"Why are you here?"

The man didn't answer, only snarling up at her like a wild animal. Renita's eyes twitched and she lifted him up and slammed him into the wall.

"I'll ask again. Why are you here?"

He only stared down at her. He averted his eyes to Aila and smiled, causing her to reel. Renita hissed and drove her fist into his gut. Blood came up when he coughed from the pain.

"Doesn't... doesn't matter. Besides... you already know who sent me. Shouldn't that be enough...?"

"You-"

"You know what they think about you, about humans..." the vampire snickered. "Imagine... imagine how they felt when they found out you had one here, they were pissed."

She screamed in rage and threw him into the floor with all her strength. At this point, he was barely alive. It took all he had to flip himself over and face Renita. She was the angriest she'd ever been in centuries, the look in her eyes enough to scare even the most hardcore killers in the cities. Now he was scared. He wasn't smiling anymore. Renita knelt down and yanked him by the collar of his cloak up to her face.

"You grunts all know how strong an abomination like me is, right? He would've told you by now, or perhaps not." her grip tightened, her claws ripping through the fabric of his cloak. "He may have hated me, but he was also scared of me. He shouldn't have left me alone all these centuries before sending small time trash like you must be. So, take a message back to him for me."

"And... and what... what is it?"

"I don't care how much they want me dead, not anymore. But that human over there?" she looked over to Aila, still huddled in a corner with her eyes closed. There were tears streaming down her face. "If anyone else dares to think about touching her, my father included, I will not hesitate to rip out his throat and feed him his own blood. Am I clear?"

The vampire nodded in fear.

"Good." Renita grabbed him and dragged him over to the same window he had come through, and his eyes widened.

"Don't worry, you won't die from this. I don't want you falling over until you tell everyone back home."

And with that, she threw him out the window.

* * *

Aila didn't remember passing out. When she came to, she was in Renita's bed. The last thing she remembered was someone coming through the window of the room she was hiding in, then Renita almost killing the man in a fit of rage. She guessed she had passed out when he collided with the wall. Renita was next to her, wide awake and clearly distraught. When she saw Aila had woken up, she hugged her. She still remembered what happened before she was attacked, and was about to try and break away again until she saw how little Renita cared, even though she remembered too.

"Thank the ancestors you're alright."

Renita wasn't letting go anytime soon, and if she wasn't flustered then Aila didn't care.

"Yeah... yeah, I'm fine."

Renita pulled away enough to be able to see her, and she couldn't help but note how little distance their was between them right now. Again, Renita didn't seem to care much at all. There were signs that she had been crying, her eyes puffy and red. She kind of understood why, if she had been passed out this whole time, thinking she had been hurt. Aside from teasing her and causing her to get flustered, this had been the most emotion Renita had shown towards her in almost a year since Aila had arrived.

"If you don't mind telling me..."

"Who that was? I personally don't know, but I know who sent him, it was my father."

"You're father?"

Renita sighed. She didn't to have to explain, not now, she wasn't the victim here, and her sob story of a past (at least to her) didn't belong right now. Aila had been attacked, not her, that vampire was going to kill her if she hadn't found her. Then again, her father had sent that vampire, most likely in an attempt to off her, it had just been Aila he had found first. How would she even explain this in the first place? Nothing would work, and having to explain her murderous father brought up enough bad memories, and she didn't need those on top of worrying about Aila.

"He wants me dead, and you got caught in the crossfire of that. I'm sorry."

"Why would your own father..."

_Shit._

No way out of it now, she guessed.

"You... you remember my condition, yes?"

Aila nodded. Renita began explaining how other vampires viewed her as an abomination, her father included, and how she was only here now because of her uncle. She started to choke up at the sheer mention of him, but she continued. She explained how he had kept her father from killing her until he'd had enough, how he died getting her away from her family's home. Her cloak, she explained, was her uncle's. It's why she always wore it. She made all this as simple sounding as she could, not to make it easier to understand, but to downplay her own issues. She wasn't the focus here, she wasn't the victim anymore. She had stopped being a victim when she had found this mansion and made it her home. To her, Aila was more important right now.

"More importantly," she exclaimed, "Are you sure you're alright? He didn't hurt you at all before I found you?" Aila didn't respond, she only stared at her, and that worried her. Had she messed up hiding all this from her, should she have told her sooner?

"Aila? Are you alright?"

She smiled, and nodded. Renita breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness, I though that-"

And like lightning and without warning, Aila was on her. She couldn't understand why she had decided that... that _kissing_ her was a good idea in this atmosphere, considering she had nearly been killed and Renita had sprawled out her entire life's story from her childhood. She told herself to pull away, told herself over and over again to pull away. But she couldn't. The longer it went on, the more warm she felt. Though Aila had practically expressed how strong she felt about her multiple times and leaving her flustered, the words always felt empty, felt meaningless. But now, it felt that those words had merit.

For the first time in a very, very long time, she felt wanted. She felt needed.

For the first time since her uncle died, she felt that somebody genuinely loved her.

She kissed her back. In the back of her head, the knowledge that she was going to be immortal after this lingered. Renita pulled away, and Aila looked confused.

"I... I hope you don't regret this, Aila."

"What...? Why would I?"

"Any mortal that has a vampire fall in love with them will become immortal. Undying. Any lingering thoughts of passing away normally don't matter anymore. So... I hope you're okay with being stuck with me for the rest of eternity."

Aila smiled again and tackled her. Her hair tickled Renita's face.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

She lowered herself and kissed her again, more passionate than the last. She pressed her body onto her hers, one hand behind her head and the other snaking underneath her cloak. Warm skin coming into contact with Renita's cold skin made her jolt, but she settled into it, relishing the feeling of it. Aila pulled away without warning and Renita groaned from the loss of contact.

"Do you... do you want to keep going?"

She cupped her face gently, and brought her back down.

"Of course."


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aila and Renita become one
> 
> A smutty continuation of chapter 7

Renita's cloak was neatly set aside at her insistence, the clothes she wore underneath in a rumpled mess with Aila's on the floor. Neither of them really knew what do, having no experience with something like this, Renita only reading along the lines of it in books, few and far in between. Aila's hands roamed aimlessly across her love's pale, cold skin. Renita held her close as she wandered, her breathing hitching in her throat every time she ran over something sensitive. Everything she was feeling was foreign to Renita, foreign but nice. Her hands were soft, warm, and gentle, and the way they slid across her skin made her cold body start to heat up.

"A-Aila..." she brought her head down and kissed her, entangling her fingers in her hair. Aila's eyes became wild from the noises she was making while they kissed, and her body moved on it's own. She closed her eyes and moved her right hand between her legs, her free one wrapped around her back. She gasped into her mouth as she felt something push inside her. Aila broke the kiss, pulling out thinking she had hurt her.

"Are you alright?" Did I-?"

"I'm fine... please, k-keep going..."

Aila nodded, lowering herself to press against her as she pushed her fingers back inside her. Again, she gasped, but this time Aila didn't stop. Renita's breathing became uneven and erratic, her fingers slowly speeding up until she was gasping for air as her body fell apart, convulsing and holding her tightly like she was about to slip away into nothingness. She felt herself getting closer to... something, having no idea what it even was until it her like a truck. All her senses went numb, she couldn't see, and she couldn't hear. She could still feel, and she refused to let go of Aila as she rode it out. She couldn't even hear herself scream as it reached it's peak and died down. It was the first time she felt anything like this, and it showed when she felt herself go limp, barely able to even think straight, much less even out her breathing.

She opened her eyes, little spots dancing around, barely able to make out Aila. She kissed her weakly, her arms sore and stomach hot. She tried to flip her over, place herself on top of her like she had. She wanted to give Aila what she had given her, make her feel like she had, love her like she had. She giggled when she figured out what she was trying to do and flipped her over for her, wrapping her arms around her. Renita had enough of her strength back at this point to start simple. She kissed her, more sloppy than she liked, then moving down to her neck, taking care to avoid the bite mark that she had insisted to leave unhealed some time prior. She moved down her chest, giving special attention to her breasts, taking one into her mouth. Now Aila's breathing was getting out of control, her body heating up more as she watched Renita.

Next, she moved herself between her legs, her tongue tracing circles over her entrance. She enjoyed the sounds she was making, getting drunk off them. She stared up at her as she plunged her tongue inside, Aila tossing her head back into the pillows. She felt her hands on the back of her head, legs wrapped around her back, asking her for more. She complied and switched out with her fingers, her mouth wrapping around her sensitive nub, sucking lightly as she pumped her fingers in and out of her. She felt her clench around her fingers, her voice getting louder as she got closer.

She didn't scream, but Renita was still pleased nonetheless. Her hips bucked up, her hands pressing into the back of her head, biting back so many sounds that she had wanted so bad to hear, but in a way, this was better.

She crawled back up to her and smiled as they kissed again. What she had said before getting into this passed through her mind, that she'd now be immortal, like her. Technically, it was true, but she hadn't yet said the words to cement it. She broke their kiss, holding her close.

_"I love you.'_

Aila teared up, her smile bright. _"I love you too."_

**Author's Note:**

> AN: This is the first story I'm truly passionate about writing, so any criticism is welcome, be it negative or positive. I'll read what you as the reader liked and disliked or loved and hated about this first chapter, such as "the pacing is too fast", "the pacing is good" or "the pacing is too slow", "it's too short" or "its a good length" or "it's too long", and I'll work to improve it. So please, don't be afraid to say what you want to say about it. I'll also begin on chapter 2 here in a few days or possibly sooner, and based on feedback i'll be changing how it goes. I'm looking forward to reading what you think!
> 
> P.S: Aila's name is pronounced i-la. Renita can be pronounced as re-ne-ta or re-ni-ta


End file.
